Customs Intellectual Property Rights Guidance

False indications of origin: Definition of a false indication of origin

A false indication of origin is a statement that is false to a material degree; this includes an indication that, though not false, is misleading and likely to be taken as false to a material degree. Examples include:

‘Made in __\_’ or ‘A product of ___’ followed by a city or country name

‘Manufactured by __\_’ or ‘Produced by ___’ followed by a company’s name and address.

National flags or city or country names may be considered to be misleading except where they clearly incorporate a design, indicate the location of the registered office or trading location for example ‘London - New York - Paris’ or where the statement ‘Distributed by __\__’ or ‘Imported for ___’ or similar appear.